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The man suspected of fatally shooting a Salem woman this week was arrested early Tuesday in Washington near the Canadian border, officials said.

Cristian Acosta, 22, of Salem was arrested by a Whatcom County sheriff’s deputy shortly before 6 a.m. He was being held Tuesday at the Whatcom County Jail in Bellingham on a charge of aggravated murder with a firearm.

Acosta was wanted in connection with the shooting death of Lucia Pamatz, his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, on Monday.

Pamatz had a restraining order against Acosta, who was convicted of assaulting her in August. He was on probation for that conviction. She had told a friend she feared for her life.

Police responding to calls of shots fired at an apartment complex on the 2500 block of Hyde Court SE around 1:45 p.m. found Pamatz dead, Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada said. Multiple gunshots had been fired inside the home.

Debbie Yummit, a neighbor of Pamatz, said she saw a man fitting Acosta’s description as early as 9:30 a.m. Monday.

“He was hanging around all morning,” Yummit said. “It was strange the way he was just chilling out there, hiding by my neighbor's white van.”

Yummit said the man went behind the complex several times and then reappeared to stand by the white van, which is on the other side of the complex, out of sight from Pamatz’s front door or apartment windows.

“I noticed him again when I was getting my grandson off the bus at 1 p.m. or so and I didn’t see him after that,” Yummit said.

Yummit said she had seen a car fitting the description of Acosta’s silver 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer with a black hood visit the complex throughout this summer, where it would wait in the parking lot for Pamatz to enter the car.

Yummit described Pamatz, whom she called Lucy, as being a sweet older sibling and all-around genuine person.

Pamatz was the first person Yummit met when she moved to the complex in 2012, and described her as having the most beautiful smile.

“She wasn’t mean. I mean there is not enough words to say about her,” Yummit said. “She was young, she was hard-working, and she would take care of her siblings.”

Yummit said Pamatz would often spend time in the front yard, playing with her younger siblings and her pet rabbit.

“I just can’t imagine why someone would do this to her,” Yummit said.

Lucia Pamatz, 20, of Salem, was shot and killed at her home on Monday. Cristian Acosta, 22, was arrested near the Canadian border and detained in connection to her death.(Photo: Special to the Statesman Journal)

Pamatz took classes at Chemeketa Community College and worked at the Gen X Clothing store near Lancaster Drive and Sunnyview Road NE for the past year. Co-workers described her as always being in a good mood and willing to help her co-workers and customers.

Acosta pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault charges in August. In his plea agreement, he stated he physically assaulted his victim, Pamatz, in an incident constituting domestic violence. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

Acosta's Facebook page says he studied mechanical engineering technology at the Oregon Institute of Technology, but OIT's marketing and communications office said Acosta was not in their records as having been a student. He graduated from McKay High School in 2012.

Pamatz filed a restraining order against Acosta in June. In the filing, she cited a series of violent and threatening encounters. During one incident in May, she said, Acosta grabbed the steering wheel while she was driving, pulled her hair and seized her wrist.

"I told him to stop," she wrote in the order. "He was hurting me, and I was really afraid."

Once she parked, he grabbed her face and ripped her shirt. She said before she blacked out, she opened the door and yelled for help.

The day before the May attack, she said, Acosta threatened via text message to hurt Pamatz and her mother.

"I don't care if your family suffers," he texted. "I just want you gone."

As part of Acosta’s sentence, he was required to attended batterer intervention courses in Marion County and to have no contact with Pamatz.

Sherie Meithof Helms, a friend of Pamatz's, met Pamatz and Acosta 18 months ago at a car club for owners of Mitsubishi Lancers.

Meithof Helms initially was drawn to Pamatz’s shy, sweet nature and the fact that she was one of the only women who attended the car club meetings, but soon learned that Pamatz was fearful for her life.

“She would always come with him (to the car meet-ups) and would seem really tense,” Meithof Helms said. “When we would hang back and talk, he would look at us and I would see her shaking.”

Meithof Helms said Pamatz told her on multiple occasions that she feared for her life, mostly during car meet-ups when they could find a moment to talk alone. Other times, Pamatz would message her on Facebook about her fears.

Pamatz’s friend soon noticed that she would show up to car meet-ups with bruises on her arms, her wrists and sometimes her face, only slightly concealed with makeup.

“I never said anything about the bruises out loud because I didn’t want him overhearing and beating her more,” Meithof Helms said. “In Facebook messages I would ask her about them and she would say ‘Yeah, Cristian hit me.'”

Meithof Helms said she told Pamatz on multiple occasions to seek help from the police, but was told she was scared for her safety if Acosta learned she told anyone about the abuse.

“She went to authorities, got a restraining order and the authorities didn’t save her,” Meithof Helms said. “She cried for help and they let her down.”

Batterer intervention programs are usually recommended by prosecutors in domestic violence cases, said Kim Larson, victim assistance director for the Marion County District Attorney's Office. Three programs, which are supervised by community corrections, serve Marion County.

Violence is a choice, Larson said, and the courses are designed to change offenders' abusive behaviors.

Advocates encourage victims to develop safety plans and file for a restraining order if they feel it is needed. Restraining orders are only one tool in the fight against domestic violence, Larson said. So much focus is put on what the victim could have done, but ultimately, she added, no one but the offender controls their own actions.

In her restraining order petition, Pamatz said Acosta had access to firearms. She requested that he be ordered not to possess or purchase a gun because, she said, "I feel he is capable of hurting me and other people."